Advent 2012

Photo by nz willowherb

Advent has arrived
With blustery winds
And driving rain.

Cold pierces the body

And scenes of avarice pierce the soul.
Winter,

The season of
Our savior's birth
And our celebration.
December 25 will come.
That day
Nine months since his conception, 
The same day and month
On which he died.
Now we wait in anticipation,
As the world waited long ago,
 Bethlehem flickers in the distance. 
Come,
Prepare the way for the Lamb of God.

Christmas Eve 2011

Photo by nz willowherb

Christmas Eve has arrived
With blustery winds
And driving rain.

Cold that pierces the body

And scenes of avarice that pierce the soul.
Winter,

Not the season of
Our savior's birth
But of our celebration.
Shepherds were in the hills
With their flocks;
The night breezes were warm
When Jesus was born.
Spring,
His time of birth,
His time of death.
Better to celebrate with joy
And anticipation in winter's chill
Than obscure the Easter message.
Shepherds.
Flocks.
Lambs.
Bethlehem.
The Lamb of God is born.

Winter Prayer

The Light that shines on our souls,

Holy are the words of your identity.

Let darkness be banished.

Let your radiance fill us

As it does the halls of eternity.

Warm us with the fresh bread of life.

Push away the icy drifts of sin

As we clear the cold of hatred

From our hearts.

Keep us off the frozen lake of greed

Lest we skate onto the thin ice of indulgence

And fall into the everlasting cold.

Wrap us in your love

To protect us from the blizzard of

Selfishness and uncaring.

For you are the sun of eternity.

Photo by ell brown

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has arrived
With blustery winds
And driving cold.
Not the season of
Our savior's birth
But the time of our celebration.
Shepherds were in the hills
With their flocks;
The night breezes were warm
When Jesus was born.
Spring,
His time of birth,
His time of death.
Better to celebrate with joy
And anticipation in winter's chill,
Than obscure the Easter message.
Shepherds.
Flocks.
Lambs.
The Lamb of God is come.

Photo by nz willowherb

Winter into Spring

Another gray day
As winter fights
The coming of spring.
I must fight
The grayness in my soul
As hopelessness fights
The eternal love of God.
The Comforter is always with me,
But sometimes I still feel all alone.
Wrap your loving-kindness around me.
"Because thy loving-kindness is better than life..."
Let me know your presence.
Forgive my sins.
Walk with me this day.

Always

"I am with you always,

even unto the end of the world."

Matthew 28:20

Lord, I'm impatient for spring,
But winter continues to battle on
With gray days and damp skies.
I need to know that spring will come
Just as I need to know that you will come.
Lord, I thank you for your promise
To be with us always.
Let me know the reality of that promise
As I try to be your follower.